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DR4X News
WHats going on?
Hey folks,
Just wanted to drop another quick devlog. Had to rush Bella to an unplanned vet visit because she started limping out of nowhere while my little sister was watching her. Luckily, Bella’s okay. Then, got roped into watching my niece and nephew when I wasn’t expecting it. So yeah, didn’t manage to get the release out this past weekend.
Decided to just take another week or so to polish everything up because of all this. So no update yet, but it’s coming soon!
So thanks for hanging in there!
Also, had to clean up one of the scenarios. It was bugging out during playtesting, and guess what? Turns out there’s been this sneaky bug in the game for probably years. It messed up saving and loading scenarios with triggers, making the triggers work only every other time it was loaded. So yeah, had to dive in and sort that out.
Gonna ramble a bit now on my various ideas, this is the end of the important bits, so continue reading only if you want to read me rambling for several paragraphs...
What else...
I've been brainstorming on spicing up the rogues guilds by introducing a bunch of new upgrades to make them feel more "guildy", especially with the new tile effects system rolling out. This would Mean I've got to update all the spots where you can build rogues guilds to include their tile effects now, etc.
Some ideas might not make it into this update but are definitely on the horizon:
For instance, I'm toying with the idea of blacksmiths in kingdoms having techs that enhance their tile effect, which I’ve already conveniently named 'Level 1'. I'm kind of keen on leaning more into that 'majesty fantasy kingdom sim' vibe.
And there's this concept I'm mulling over, though it's still a bit up in the air for this update – the idea of introducing tile effects that change every turn based on some math or randomization. Picture this: the ocean having "storm" tiles that damage ships if you build there, with varying intensity levels but is also quite deterministic. It would add this whole new layer of strategy to where you decide to deploy your ships. I'm thinking of using some kind of cellular automata to simulate the storms intensifying and shifting, it seems like it would be quite a bit of work if i wanted to get it in this update. So it probably wont happen but a man can dream.
There's also this idea I've had since I implemented the system, where the liminal maps would have a unique tile effect that grants units bonuses for deploying there, but once deployed, the effect would disappear. It's akin to scavenging in the back rooms and slowly the map would run out of "scvangeable" tiles. Surprisingly, this would be a lot easier to add than the storm idea, and it would introduce a whole new layer of depth to the noderoom "map settings" in the skirmish game.
I should mention that, obviously, once this is out, just because this update is out doesn't mean I won't be updating the system or adding new tile effects in later updates. This is just the first "iteration", so to speak, and not all my ideas will make it in this first round.
I do really, really need people to give me feedback once it's out, though!
Just wanted to drop another quick devlog. Had to rush Bella to an unplanned vet visit because she started limping out of nowhere while my little sister was watching her. Luckily, Bella’s okay. Then, got roped into watching my niece and nephew when I wasn’t expecting it. So yeah, didn’t manage to get the release out this past weekend.
Decided to just take another week or so to polish everything up because of all this. So no update yet, but it’s coming soon!
So thanks for hanging in there!
Also, had to clean up one of the scenarios. It was bugging out during playtesting, and guess what? Turns out there’s been this sneaky bug in the game for probably years. It messed up saving and loading scenarios with triggers, making the triggers work only every other time it was loaded. So yeah, had to dive in and sort that out.
Gonna ramble a bit now on my various ideas, this is the end of the important bits, so continue reading only if you want to read me rambling for several paragraphs...
What else...
I've been brainstorming on spicing up the rogues guilds by introducing a bunch of new upgrades to make them feel more "guildy", especially with the new tile effects system rolling out. This would Mean I've got to update all the spots where you can build rogues guilds to include their tile effects now, etc.
Some ideas might not make it into this update but are definitely on the horizon:
For instance, I'm toying with the idea of blacksmiths in kingdoms having techs that enhance their tile effect, which I’ve already conveniently named 'Level 1'. I'm kind of keen on leaning more into that 'majesty fantasy kingdom sim' vibe.
And there's this concept I'm mulling over, though it's still a bit up in the air for this update – the idea of introducing tile effects that change every turn based on some math or randomization. Picture this: the ocean having "storm" tiles that damage ships if you build there, with varying intensity levels but is also quite deterministic. It would add this whole new layer of strategy to where you decide to deploy your ships. I'm thinking of using some kind of cellular automata to simulate the storms intensifying and shifting, it seems like it would be quite a bit of work if i wanted to get it in this update. So it probably wont happen but a man can dream.
There's also this idea I've had since I implemented the system, where the liminal maps would have a unique tile effect that grants units bonuses for deploying there, but once deployed, the effect would disappear. It's akin to scavenging in the back rooms and slowly the map would run out of "scvangeable" tiles. Surprisingly, this would be a lot easier to add than the storm idea, and it would introduce a whole new layer of depth to the noderoom "map settings" in the skirmish game.
I should mention that, obviously, once this is out, just because this update is out doesn't mean I won't be updating the system or adding new tile effects in later updates. This is just the first "iteration", so to speak, and not all my ideas will make it in this first round.
I do really, really need people to give me feedback once it's out, though!
DR4X Art Stream
Join us in the (1 day later than usual) DR4X art stream.
https://www.twitch.tv/natch_evil
Holy dr4x!
Deez dr4x
Dr4x
https://www.twitch.tv/natch_evil
Holy dr4x!
Deez dr4x
Dr4x
New Mechanics?!?! Devlog!
Hey guys!
I just wanted to do a little devlog to let you know whats happening in the next (major) update (Which will hopefully be out this weekend!)
This next update balooned in scope massively! I didn't do the "small updates" this time because the pace was very brisk!
But It ended up being the case that this update is similar in scope to the previous Major update (A8B9C0)!
Some important standouts:
I'm adding a new major mechanic in the form of tile effects, which makes building and unit deploy spots actually matter! It is similar mechanically to the advantage/disadvantage system. Where different tiles are color coded to show you what they do!
Some of them play out as Major Faction powers, like kingdoms new ability to instantly annex any independant/wildlife/new republic/Tenebris capturables via placing guardhouses adjacent to them kinda similar to the game slay!
Some are more subtle!
Like Bandits ability to give their units permanent bonuses based on deploying them on their own buildings! (Kingdoms have some of this too, but they are less direct :P)
(Bandits also have a whole suite of different faction specific tile effects that act as new powers for them that instantly infest all adjacent tiles with crime etc, grant major combat/resource bonuses and encourage them to harass other players.
This should also make them more viable on world ages like Novus Imperium and Grex Tenebris
Some are More SImulationist!
Like some mountains have "diamonds" or "iron veins"
And businesses benefitting from being placed on "scenic" or hard to reach tiles.
And other weirder effects!
The goal of these is to have more strategic choice and to make the games pace even brisker as well as reducing frusteration, like having to take forever to capture a city controlled by wildlife on a mountain or something)
I have added the ability to change the way "teams" are displayed, which was used for these screenshots, it hides the healthbar and tints the tile so it is more like a conquest of elysium style way of displaying things.
I have multithreaded many of the more intensive operations the game can perform, which should lead to better performance! (Especially for AI)
The AI is now capable of actually using their deploy range and intelligently builds on tiles that benefit them the most in the long run! As well as many new AI personalities and other tweaks, that make them more willing to use the new boats, smarter in general etc.
Yo-ho-ho, I've brought Boats into the game! It's not exactly an 'ocean update', but hey, it’s gonna spice up your strategy big time, especially on maps with lots of water (Like the pangea ones). Plus, the AI is fully capable of using them too (And spamming them lol). These boats? They've got their own rock-paper-scissors thing going on, countering each other just like other units do with their hard counter bonuses, but with their own twist on the hard counter triangle!
And hey, between you and me, I've been really wanting to sneak in pirates for the longest time. Who knows, maybe they'll sail into Chapter 2...
(Yes, yes they will, i need to avoid being vague, there will in fact be at least one major pirate guy)
So, yeah, you can see I've been kinda busy! The whole point of dropping this devlog now is 'cause I've been off the radar for a couple weeks, and I didn't want you guys thinking I'd vanished into thin air or something. Just wanted to confirm that, yes, skirmish mode is getting some love with big updates. (And, just between us, all these new cool additions? They're STILL actually part of my master plan to spice up the missions for Chapter 2!) Heh.
I just wanted to do a little devlog to let you know whats happening in the next (major) update (Which will hopefully be out this weekend!)
This next update balooned in scope massively! I didn't do the "small updates" this time because the pace was very brisk!
But It ended up being the case that this update is similar in scope to the previous Major update (A8B9C0)!
Some important standouts:
Tile Effects
I'm adding a new major mechanic in the form of tile effects, which makes building and unit deploy spots actually matter! It is similar mechanically to the advantage/disadvantage system. Where different tiles are color coded to show you what they do!
Some of them play out as Major Faction powers, like kingdoms new ability to instantly annex any independant/wildlife/new republic/Tenebris capturables via placing guardhouses adjacent to them kinda similar to the game slay!
Some are more subtle!
Like Bandits ability to give their units permanent bonuses based on deploying them on their own buildings! (Kingdoms have some of this too, but they are less direct :P)
(Bandits also have a whole suite of different faction specific tile effects that act as new powers for them that instantly infest all adjacent tiles with crime etc, grant major combat/resource bonuses and encourage them to harass other players.
This should also make them more viable on world ages like Novus Imperium and Grex Tenebris
Some are More SImulationist!
Like some mountains have "diamonds" or "iron veins"
And businesses benefitting from being placed on "scenic" or hard to reach tiles.
And other weirder effects!
The goal of these is to have more strategic choice and to make the games pace even brisker as well as reducing frusteration, like having to take forever to capture a city controlled by wildlife on a mountain or something)
New Options!
I have added the ability to change the way "teams" are displayed, which was used for these screenshots, it hides the healthbar and tints the tile so it is more like a conquest of elysium style way of displaying things.
Multithreading!
I have multithreaded many of the more intensive operations the game can perform, which should lead to better performance! (Especially for AI)
AI Improvements!
The AI is now capable of actually using their deploy range and intelligently builds on tiles that benefit them the most in the long run! As well as many new AI personalities and other tweaks, that make them more willing to use the new boats, smarter in general etc.
BOATS!
Yo-ho-ho, I've brought Boats into the game! It's not exactly an 'ocean update', but hey, it’s gonna spice up your strategy big time, especially on maps with lots of water (Like the pangea ones). Plus, the AI is fully capable of using them too (And spamming them lol). These boats? They've got their own rock-paper-scissors thing going on, countering each other just like other units do with their hard counter bonuses, but with their own twist on the hard counter triangle!
And hey, between you and me, I've been really wanting to sneak in pirates for the longest time. Who knows, maybe they'll sail into Chapter 2...
(Yes, yes they will, i need to avoid being vague, there will in fact be at least one major pirate guy)
So, yeah, you can see I've been kinda busy! The whole point of dropping this devlog now is 'cause I've been off the radar for a couple weeks, and I didn't want you guys thinking I'd vanished into thin air or something. Just wanted to confirm that, yes, skirmish mode is getting some love with big updates. (And, just between us, all these new cool additions? They're STILL actually part of my master plan to spice up the missions for Chapter 2!) Heh.
Art Stream
Join our art stream!
Where we art teh DR4X.
https://www.twitch.tv/natch_evil
Where we art teh DR4X.
https://www.twitch.tv/natch_evil